Editorial Staff
Deejah FIGUEROA | Managing Editor
Deejah fell in love with music at the ripe age of three when she could be heard singing lines from LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” around the house. A Communication major at Northern Arizona University, Deejah got her first job at a radio station to make some extra cash – the station was classical – but that just introduced her to another genre of music to love.
Listening to music, going to concerts and making mix tapes for her friends are some of her hobbies. Deejah also loves to catch a movie at least once a week if possible and she is an avid reader.
She can now be heard on Magic 106.1 Monday – Friday mornings discussing pop culture.
Deejah resides in Phoenix and can be found on Twitter: @idigress and: @popcultureworld
Miranda KO | On-air Correspondent
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Miranda grew up in the bustling town of Kowloon before moving to Tokyo and attending Hosei University Girl’s School as an exchange student. She is now pursuing a degree in Management Science at the University of California, San Diego, and is conducting research in Marine Science at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Miranda also studied English at Stanford University.
Miranda is a true cosmopolitan. Her ability to speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, and English ®” plus her immersion of the three cultures has allowed her to travel fluidly in Asia and America.
After being approached by an agent, Miranda began her modeling career at fifteen and has been featured in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and San Francisco. Her works include: Intel, Party City, Northface, Smashbox Cosmetics, D&G Anthropology Fragrance, Sephora, Neutrogena, Adidas, Eufora, Phonak, Ecowatt, Swing Design, Harquein Feltworks, Yogawhat, Bella’s Bridesmaid, Prom Magazine, Milk! Magazine, Yes! Magazine, JJ Magazine(Tokyo), New Dynasty Magazine(Xian) and many more.
Miranda is not only intelligent and beautiful ®” she is also bad-ass in her own way. Miranda was the captain of the varsity wrestling team in high school, and as the only girl, she was first to capture the MVP award, Regional Championship, and placed in her school’s Wrestling Hall of Fame.
To learn more about Miranda, visit her online at mirandako.com, or follow her on Twitter: @mirandakodotcom.
Lara H. SMITH | Editor
Lara H. Smith intended to major in English Literature, but boredom with Milton and Melville resulted in a change of course and a degree in Communication from the University of Arizona. She works in Corporate Communications for a healthcare company and devours all things pop culture in her downtime. To balance her serious interest in reading contemporary literature, watching quirky independent films and partaking in amateur digital photography, Lara indulges her guilty pleasure of shamelessly watching every season of ABC’s craptastically wonderful “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.”
Lara is currently pursuing her newest project, “Lara’s Reading Room,” where she will read and review a book a week for the entirety of 2010. To follow Lara’s progress, please visit her online at: Lara’s Reading Room.
She resides in Arizona.
Lisa CAMP | Contributor
Lisa Camp is an aspiring entrepreneur, wife of sixteen years, mom of four great kids, full-time executive assistant in a bustling renewable energy company and a humble writer in her spare time. She loves to travel, exercise and read one to two books every month. As a former professional clown for more than 18 years, Lisa has a passion for children, and all things related to business.
She resides in her home state of Arizona again, after spending several amazing years in Vermont.
Tom KELLY | Contributor
Tom was sent hurtling through space at a young age, as the last remnants of his home planet exploded. Crash landing in a small midwestern town he was raised by local farmers. As time went by and his powers began to grow, it became clear that he was not the average alien boy to crash land on earth from parts unknown. Wait a minute this sounds suspiciously like someone else’s origin…
Having recently completed his Master’s Degree in Secondary Education Tom once again finds himself swayed by the allure of writing. Beginning in 2007 he wrote freelance covering a variety of video games and has remained active in the blogosphere since that time. An avid gamer to this day Tom hopes to one day enter a global street fighting tournament to save the world from the grips of an evil tyrant. Should that opportunity fail to present itself, he has no doubt there will one day be a war for the realms; at which point, he will serve as Earth’s champion against all the unsavory characters from Outworld.
Kathleen RICHTER | Contributor
Kathleen Richter is a freelance writer of all kinds, from blog posts to news articles. She published her first piece in an undergraduate International Affairs journal, Prospect, and has been acting as an editor for them ever since. She has won an award for her analytical writing, and has written news articles and blog posts for the Feminist Majority Foundation. During her spare time, she has been known to hide in independent coffee shops and write short fiction pieces.
In addition to writing, Kathleen also publishes a weekly webcomic about being a vegan feminist, called F.E.V.A.H.
Kathleen graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in International Studies and two minors, one in Writing and one in Spanish Literature.
Kathleen currently lives in California.
Teresa SIGMON | Contributor
Teresa was born and raised in North Carolina where she danced and drew her way into N.C. State University School of Design. Much to her parents’ chagrin, after a little over a year, she left school and moved to Phoenix, Arizona to become a professional ballroom competitor and instructor. From 1989 through 1995, she danced her away around the USA, Canada and was even part of a two-week Goodwill tour in Russia. With her two dance partners, she shimmied, twirled and was hoisted in the air to win numerous titles in the U.S. as well as placing as high as fourth nationally.
In 1992, while still dancing competitively, Teresa started her own company designing and manufacturing custom ballroom dance apparel. Since then, she has created hundreds of stunning ballgowns and Latin dresses for competitive dancers across the US and Canada. Each dress is unique and custom-made. She is proud to have never duplicated one of her own dresses or those of other designers. To top if off, she still loves to teach dance lessons and is thrilled to see her students improve.
Teresa is currently ghost-writing and editing a nonfiction on teen dating for a Licensed Professional Counselor in Phoenix, Arizona and is forever working on her own novel set in 1940-1970s Georgia. Her hobbies include traveling, ice skating, archery, hiking and kayaking.
Teresa currently lives in Portland, Oregon.
Michael WELCH | Contributor
Michael is an I.T. professional with a deep love for music, film and books.
Also vying for his attention are his lovely wife, three children (Alexandra, age 10, and infant twins DJ & Xander), and many pets.
He was born in New York, spent a thirteen year summer in Arizona, and now resides happily in Boise, ID.
His hobbies include volleyball, motorcycle riding, computer gaming and diaper changing.
Allan GIVEN | Founder
Working with Stan Lee on TRUE BELIEVER
Allan has received numerous awards for his writing, and in 2005, his episode of FAMILY GUY was a semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival, the farthest a script for an animated show has ever made it in that prestigious competition. He has done script doctoring on a plethora of projects and is available to provide coverage on both feature length and television screenplays. To learn more about this service, please click HERE to email Allan directly.
Allan graduated cum laude with his Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from the University of California, San Diego and later went on to study screenwriting and producing at the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television.
He currently resides in southern California and can also be found on Twitter: @willgiven
